Why does Clausewitz's 'absolute war' not occur in reality?
The time when Clausewitz wrote his 'On War', wars were indeed limited due to the total balance of power in Europe. However, the era on which the author concentrated was the Napoleonic era - the period of complete imbalance of power. Thus, Clausewitz's idea of the 'absolute war' was an entirely scientific concept at the time. States did not reach the state of absolute war, neither the statesmen were willing to risk the public support and the structure of alliances by inflicting absolute war on each other. Hence, Clausewitz's term 'absolute war' should be considered as a scientific, even theoretical concept that had to accord with the policy of a given state. Moreover, 'absolute war ' must be considered as a romantic view on war, in order to account for its impossibility.
The Romantic way of referring to war is seen throughout Clausewitz's writings. It could be argued that the absolute concept of war is an invention of a period of moderation, when romanticism was the way of portraying war in order to present it as a certain phenomenon. This trend could be found in Clausewitz's 'On War', where war is portrayed with a romantic notion in order to impress, or even astonish the reader with a phenomenon of war. Clausewitz detested the French. Nevertheless, he admires Napoleon for his total perception of conquest and for his unending imperial ambition. In this context, total war could be placed very closely to the whole concept of absolute war. It is relevant to suspect Clausewitz in being irrational when portraying the outbreak of an armed conflict as a romantic phenomenon. This is particularly relevant when considering the sociological view on war. The increased social interaction and the upheaval of cultural enlightment could not lead societies towards the positive perception of the absolute war. Thus, Clausewitz's idealistic portrayal of war with its romantic connotations could not be considered as a substantial factor that could have led to the actual introduction of such war into human practice.
The time when Clausewitz wrote his 'On War', wars were indeed limited due to the total balance of power in Europe. However, the era on which the author concentrated was the Napoleonic era - the period of complete imbalance of power. Thus, Clausewitz's idea of the 'absolute war' was an entirely scientific concept at the time. States did not reach the state of absolute war, neither the statesmen were willing to risk the public support and the structure of alliances by inflicting absolute war on each other. Hence, Clausewitz's term 'absolute war' should be considered as a scientific, even theoretical concept that had to accord with the policy of a given state. Moreover, 'absolute war ' must be considered as a romantic view on war, in order to account for its impossibility.
The Romantic way of referring to war is seen throughout Clausewitz's writings. It could be argued that the absolute concept of war is an invention of a period of moderation, when romanticism was the way of portraying war in order to present it as a certain phenomenon. This trend could be found in Clausewitz's 'On War', where war is portrayed with a romantic notion in order to impress, or even astonish the reader with a phenomenon of war. Clausewitz detested the French. Nevertheless, he admires Napoleon for his total perception of conquest and for his unending imperial ambition. In this context, total war could be placed very closely to the whole concept of absolute war. It is relevant to suspect Clausewitz in being irrational when portraying the outbreak of an armed conflict as a romantic phenomenon. This is particularly relevant when considering the sociological view on war. The increased social interaction and the upheaval of cultural enlightment could not lead societies towards the positive perception of the absolute war. Thus, Clausewitz's idealistic portrayal of war with its romantic connotations could not be considered as a substantial factor that could have led to the actual introduction of such war into human practice.
